


Work / Life

by bitboozy



Series: Domesticated [40]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Case, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Gen, Romance, This is a love story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:29:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23687704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitboozy/pseuds/bitboozy
Summary: Alec and Ellie try to balance difficulties at home with a time-consuming murder investigation.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller, Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller
Series: Domesticated [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550554
Comments: 85
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part FORTY!!! I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed!

Roughly two weeks after they return from their honeymoon, Alec and Ellie are pulled into a murder case by the next town over. This is the town of Rockford’s first murder, outside of accidental death and manslaughter, and due to their experience, Alec and Ellie’s joint expertise has been requested. Now, in addition to their current positions supervising Broadchurch CID, they are effectively running the investigation of the murder of a 23-year-old woman.

When the Rockford Chief Superintendent and Detective Chief Inspector, both men, had first come to Broadchurch CID to explain the situation, Alec and Ellie had had Aila in tow. Molly, their nanny, had called in sick. As they sat together in the conference room to be briefed, they could plainly see the hesitance in these strangers growing, as they eyed the baby in the Detective Inspector’s lap. They were already seemingly put off by the fact that Broadchurch’s DCI and DI are _married_. The baby is a whole other situation.

Alec and Ellie feel no need to prove themselves or make excuses. It’s _their_ help that is needed, after all.

The Rockford DCI clears his throat. “Will she, um – “

Alec sits up straight. “She’ll be sorted tomorrow, but we’ll have to bring her to the crime scene today,” he says. “If that’s what you’re askin’.”

“She’ll be fine,” Ellie assures them.

“Can’t you leave her with…” He gestures around at all the detectives on the floor.

Alec and Ellie both laugh. Aila spits out her pacifier.

“ _Please_ ,” Ellie scoffs.

And so Aila comes with her parents to the primary school in Rockford, where 23-year-old Melinda Parker was both strangled and stabbed repeatedly in the teacher’s lounge. The baby is none the wiser, sitting by the door in her carrier, sucking on a teething ring.

After inspecting the crime scene, Alec and Ellie meet with Rockford’s SoCo team at their station. Then they announce that they’re going to get some lunch and sort things out on their end. They sit in Alec’s car with packets from the local chippie. Ellie nurses Aila in the passenger seat.

“How on earth are we going to manage this,” Ellie questions with a heavy sigh.

“Doesn’t look much like we’ve got a choice,” Alec replies, popping a chip into his mouth.

She shakes her head. “ _Horrible_ ,” she says, thinking back to the crime scene.

It’s certainly far more blood than either of them are used to seeing, even given the murders they’ve solved.

“May have to pull shifts,” Alec tells her, working through the logistics in his head. “We certainly can’t both be on the case ‘round the clock, not with the kids.”

“Yes, but isn’t it also our _partnership_ they’re interested in?”

“Still partners,” he reasons. “Just need to tag in and out sometimes. You stick to mornings and afternoons, I’ll take evenings and late nights as needed. We’ll stay in touch throughout and sometimes…you know, meet in the middle.”

She nods slowly, convincing herself. “And we’ll ask Jenkinson to step in on the daily running of Broadchurch CID while we’re on the case. Help out.” She flinches. “ _Ow_.”

Alec looks over at her. She’s looking down at Aila.

“Thinks she’s got a bloody tooth coming in finally.”

Aila unlatches and smiles up at Ellie as if nothing happened.

Ellie shakes her head. “Saucy.” She hands the baby over to Alec to burp while she fixes herself back up. “You think we can handle this?”

“Certainly we can,” he replies. “Not sayin’ it’ll be _easy_ , mind you.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and it won’t drag on.”

“Look, we’ll do as much as we can do. At the end of the day, it’s not our jurisdiction, not our case. We help until we can’t anymore, case closed or not.” He pats Aila’s back.

“Right.”

Aila lifts her head up and starts trying to bite his ear.

“Oi with those slimey wee gums, lass,” Alec complains, moving her down onto his lap. She starts pulling on his tie.

Ellie chuckles. “I’ll take her home, get the kids sorted with dinner. You stay and get started here, take a taxi back later.”

He nods. “All right.” Aila puts his tie in her mouth just as he’s starting to hand her over to Ellie.

“That is _not_ the way we endear ourselves to people, little girl,” Ellie says, taking her. Aila pitches forward and tries to bite her nose. “Deserved that, I s’pose.”

Alec leans forward and kisses Ellie. “Love you.”

She gives him a reassuring smile. “Love you.”

Then he gets out of the car.

*

Ellie and the kids have a dinner of Japanese takeaway in the kitchen because the dining room table is covered with legos. Fred is exhausted, Daisy is cranky, and Tom is distracted. Ellie is constantly checking her mobile for updates on the case. Aila is feeling neglected, sitting in her high chair slapping the tray.

“So,” Ellie says finally, with an exhale. “There’s a major investigation happening over in Rockford. A murder investigation.”

Everyone looks up at this, even Aila, though she doesn’t know why.

“That’s where your dad is. They’ve asked the two of us to step in and give them a hand,” she explains. “This being their first murder case and all.”

Fred’s eyes are wide as he chews a roll of sushi. “What kind of murder.”

Ellie pats his arm. “Never you mind about that. What you need to know is – “ She glances over and notices that both Tom and Daisy are already on their mobiles, probably googling the case. “Mobiles down please.” They both grudgingly comply. “What you need to know is that we’re going to be working around the clock on this, literally. We’re splitting most of the day up, so one of us is still available for you kids, but we’re going to be spread pretty thin for a while. We’ll need your patience and cooperation.”

Tom and Daisy nod. Ellie looks at Fred. “Tell me what you know about patience, Freddie.”

“Mm. Waiting nicely,” he replies, swallowing.

“And cooperation?”

“Doing what you’re told. Nicely.”

“Good.” She looks at all of them one by one. “Is everybody clear?”

They all nod.

“Do you have any questions?”

They shake their heads.

*

Nearing midnight, Ellie is in bed with her laptop open and a cup of chamomile tea on her bedside table. She’d requested that every photo taken at the crime scene be sent to her to study while she was at home, as well as every single piece of information they have on Melinda Parker.

Alec walks into the bedroom about thirty seconds after she hears the front door of the house open and close. He looks like he’s been hit by a truck but she’s not noticed yet.

Barely looking up from the computer, she says, “How does one accrue this many gambling debts by the age of twenty-three?” She shakes her head. “Perhaps I’d better ask Lucy.”

Ellie looks up when he doesn’t respond. He’s taken off his jacket on his way to his closet. She closes her laptop. “All right, love?”

He grunts, laying his jacket on a chair.

“You’re tired,” she says, studying him.

“Course I’m bloody tired, it’s after midnight.” He disappears into the bathroom.

She sits up and takes a sip of her tea, waiting, nonplussed by his grumpiness. He comes back out in his briefs and unbuttoned shirt, tossing his trousers into the laundry basket.

“Did you eat?”

“Had an apple.”

“That’s it? All day, all night?”

He sits on the edge of the bed with his back to her. “Leave it alone, El.”

“Haven’t gotten a single text from you in over eight hours,” she tells him. “How am I supposed to stay up to date on the case if you – “

He groans and pulls back the covers. “Johnson will brief you in the mornin’.”

Ellie watches him a moment, then holds her arms out to him. “Come here.”

Alec simply grunts, arranging his pillows.

“ _Alec_. Come. Here.”

He turns and looks at her, then exhales some of the tension from his body and moves into her arms.

“There you are now.” She tightens her arms around him and kisses the top of his head.

“Sorry,” he mumbles into her chest.

“It’s all right.” She keeps her lips in his hair and starts rubbing his back. “Was it awful?”

“Been a while, I’ll tell you that. And I haven’t missed it one bit.”

She smiles a bit sadly. “Did you get into this business thinking you’d be solving cat burglaries your whole life?”

She can feel him almost smiling against her skin. She’s now stroking his hair with one hand, rubbing his back with the other.

“Kids all right?” He asks.

“They’re fine,” she replies. “I told them what they needed to know. Although I’m sure Tom and Daiz have got the full story by now thanks to the internet.”

“ _We_ don’t even know the full story.”

Alec yawns and slips a hand underneath her t-shirt, sliding his palm back and forth across her stomach. He relaxes deeper into her.

“What’s the plan?” She asks, feeling him about to drop off.

“You’ll go straight to Rockford in the mornin’,” he answers. “I’ll be in late afternoon, we’ll check in for a bit then you’ll come home to the kids and I’ll stick around until we call it a night.”

She nods. The plan doesn’t thrill her but it’s the best one they’ve got. “Promise me you won’t come in early. Get some rest. Spend some time with Aila. Eat properly.”

He yawns again. “Kay.”

“Molly will still be here, but you can send her off a break whenever you like, all right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Ellie kisses his hair again and turns off her bedside lamp. She slides down onto her pillow, without him detaching from her at all. She can tell from rhythm of his breathing that he’s asleep.

*

On the second full day of this grueling schedule, Alec is just getting ready to leave for Rockford when Tom arrives home much earlier than usual.

Alec is still holding Aila as he searches for his keys. Molly is at the ready, waiting to take over.

“Hey, mate,” Alec says when Tom walks in the door. “Bit early for you, isn’t it?”

He finds his keys in between the couch cushions and looks at Aila. “Somethin’ tells me you’re responsible for this.” Aila smiles up at him innocently.

“Yeah, well,” Tom says with a shrug. “Quit the _Echo_ , so.”

Alec stares at him. Tom frowns and then walks away.

“Uh.” Alec looks at Molly. “Can you, uh – “ He hands Aila over to her, then follows Tom into the kitchen.

Tom is already rummaging through a bag of crisps when Alec walks in.

“You wanna run that one by me again, lad?”

Tom sits down at the table and kicks his feet up onto the nearest chair, hand submerged in the crisps bag. “Just quit. Taking up too much time, you know?”

“…Time from _what_ , you’re fifteen.” Alec leans against the counter, arms folded across his chest. “FIFA?”

Tom blinks at him, as if the answer should be obvious. “Time from Erin.”

Alec sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. This annoys Tom. “ _What_ ,” he complains.

“You don’t think you can be in a relationship and have a job at the same time?” Alec questions. “Cause that _is_ actually what most people do, you know. And your job’s barely fifteen hours a week.”

“Yeah, but plus school and all. Homework. Mates. It’s a lot.”

“Yeah.” Alec nods, granting him that. “But it’s always gonna be a lot. God’s sakes, look at me and your mum right now. We can hardly keep up with it all, we've had no time alone. But that’s just how it goes, you make it work. You don’t quit your job.”

“It’s fine, Alec, honestly.” Tom shoves a few crisps into his mouth at once. “Maggie was fine with it, it’s no big thing.”

“Did you give Maggie any _notice_?”

“…What?”

“Pretty standard to give an employer two weeks’ notice,” Alec tells him.

“Oh. No. I didn’t think about that.”

“How much _did_ you think about? Didn’t even run it by us first.”

“’s _my_ job, not your job,” Tom retorts.

“Right, well, what if we said that with all your newfound free time, you get to mind your wee sister more?”

Tom glares at him. “You can’t do that.”

“Can’t we? In fact, why don’t I just go tell Molly to take the rest of afternoon off,” Alec suggests. “You can take your sister for a nice long walk in her buggy, eh?”

Tom sits up straight, pulling his feet off the chair. “Alec.”

“You don’t quit your job to spend more time with your girlfriend. Not at fifteen.” Alec grabs an orange off the counter. He tosses it, then catches it. “So it’s down to you then. Back to the _Echo_ , or afternoons with a seven-month-old baby. You decide.”

Tom loudly crinkles up the bag of crisps and stands. “Fine. I’ll go.” He heads for the door.

“Hope Maggie’ll take you back…”

Tom groans as he walks out of sight. Alec tosses and catches the orange again triumphantly.

*

Alec arrives at Rockport CID forty-five minutes later. Ellie is in the conference room with two other detectives, replaying video of a suspect interview, pausing every so often.

“Afternoon,” he says as he enters.

Ellie points the remote at the projector and pauses the video. She turns her head and smiles at him. He leans down and gives her a quick kiss then sits down beside her.

“Hi,” she says, smile remaining.

“Tom tried to quit the _Echo_ ,” he says quietly, leaning into her.

She makes a face.

“Don’t worry, I handled it. Went crawlin’ back to Maggie with his tail between his legs.”

“How?” She whispers, even though everyone can hear them.

“Threatened him with more child-mindin’.” He grins.

“Brilliant.” Then she slides her coffee mug toward him. “All right, let’s catch you up.”

*

That night, Daisy refuses to join them for dinner.

“Come on, lovely, you must be starving,” Ellie argues, as Daisy stomps upstairs. “What’s the trouble?”

“Jade and I split up,” Daisy announces. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it."

*

The following afternoon, Alec arrives at Rockford CID to find Ellie standing outside the station, leaning against the brick wall. She gives him a soft, exhausted smile as he approaches. He goes straight to her, returning the same smile, and places his hands on her hips, closing his eyes as he touches his forehead to hers. 

"All right?" He asks quietly.

"Mm. You?"

"Mm." 

He strokes her hair and kisses her cheek, then her temple, her ear. "I love you," he whispers. 

She scratches at his beard. "Love you back." 

He raises his head to look her in the eye, then pats her hip. "See you soon." 

She nods and squeezes his hand as he pulls away from her and heads into the station.

*

The next day, both Alec and Ellie receive voicemails from Fred’s school in the early afternoon. Alec is asleep and misses it. Ellie is in Rockford. Fred has gotten into “a row” and needs to be picked up.

Ellie is _astonished_ , of course, but she’s in the car with two Rockford sergeants tracking down a lead. She calls Lucy and asks her to pick him up.

When Lucy arrives at the school, the head teacher informs Lucy that Fred had launched himself at another boy in the school yard. Hit him, pulled his hair, and kicked him. Lucy stares at her, utterly flummoxed.

“ _Why_?” She asks. “Fred’s not – he’s never – he’s the sweetest boy alive, _why_ would he do such a bloody thing?!”

The head teacher hesitates, re-crossing her legs uncomfortably. “The other boy made some…disparaging comments to him.”

“What ‘disparaging comments’?” Lucy folds her arms across her chest, in full defense mode.

“He was telling all the other children in the schoolyard that Fred’s biological father is a…murderer and a paedophile.”

Lucy’s jaw drops.

***


	2. Chapter 2

Alec has already left for Rockford by the time Lucy arrives at the house with a sulky Fred in tow. He’s not said a thing to her in the car and she hasn’t pushed him. She sends him up to his room, then finds Molly in the living room, sitting on the floor with Aila, who is just about able to sit upright on her own, though she’s a bit wobbly.

Lucy sends Molly home. She ought to tell Ellie about this in person, she knows, so she may as well stick around.

Daisy barrels through the front door about an hour later. “Just me, Molly!” She calls out, on her way up the stairs.

“It’s Lucy!” Lucy calls back.

“Oh.” Daisy comes back down the stairs and pops her head into the living room. “Hey.”

Lucy is sat on the couch with Aila on her lap, feeding her a bottle.

“Molly feeling poorly again?”

“Nah, had to pick up Fred from school, thought I’d just stick around,” Lucy replies.

Daisy eyes her suspiciously. “…What’d he get into?”

“Nothing to worry about for now,” she insists, then hesitates. “Heard about your….relationship status.”

Daisy folds her arms across her chest and leans against the doorway. “Yeah. It’s…well. Whatever, it’s not a big deal honestly. Would be kinda weird to end up with your high school partner, right?”

“Quite right,” Lucy agrees. “I married my high school boyfriend and look where that’s got me. Good and divorced.”

Daisy nods, as if this proves the rule entirely. “Right. So. It’s fine.”

“’s all right if it’s not fine, you know. Even if it was the right thing, these things are still bloody difficult. You’re allowed to feel…however you feel about it, eh?”

Daisy nods again, this time more somberly. “Yeah.” She looks down for a moment, then back up. “I’m not stopping, just dropping off my school bag. Going to meet some mates at the cinema.”

“All right, love. Have fun.”

*

Ellie and Alec run into each other in the car park near Rockford CID. He’s just pulled in, parking his car next to hers just as she approaches.

“Fancy seein’ you here,” he says, getting out of the car. “Sight for sore eyes, you are.”

He reaches for her waist and kisses her.

“We’re looking at Nathan Gombell now,” Ellie tells him, with an exhausted sigh.

He looks surprised. “Her student?”

“Yeah.” She pats his cheek. “The uniform are bringing him in now, he’ll have his parents in tow being a minor and all. Have fun with that. Gonna go home and see about Fred.” She pulls out of his grasp and goes to her car.

“Did Luce give you any idea?” He asks.

“Not a clue.”

*

Ellie drops her bag down in the foyer when she walks in the house and shrugs off her blazer.

“Lucy?”

Lucy is sitting on the couch with Aila on the cushion next to her. She sits the baby up, spots her as she wobbles, then laughs every time she falls over.

“There you are,” Ellie says, entering the living room. Aila quickly turns her head. “Hi, baby.”

She picks Aila up and sits down in her spot, settling her on her lap.

“Fred’s in his room,” Lucy says.

“What’s happened?”

She pauses. “Pour you a glass of wine first?”

“Just come out with it, please.”

Aila keeps trying to turn around and climb up Ellie’s body. But she doesn’t know how, so she just paws at her and slips back down. “Mmmmmm- _muh._ ”

Lucy sighs heavily.

“ _Luce_.”

“All right.” She takes a deep breath. “Fred started a fight with one of the other boys.”

Ellie’s eyes widen with concern. “Fred _started_ it?”

“Yeah, because…well. The other boy, didn’t give me his name, was apparently…” She bite her lip.

“Lucy, _what_.”

“The other boy was goin’ around tellin’ the other kids that Fred’s biological dad is a murderer and paedophile.”

Ellie goes pale. She instinctively holds Aila so tightly to her that the baby cannot move. She whines.

“What – how --- how on _earth_ …”

“Dunno.”

“Well we have to find out who it was!” Ellie insists. “We can’t let something like that go on, now can we?”

Lucy nods. “Thought I’d leave that bit to you. I’m sure the head teacher will be be expecting you.”

“Did Fred say anything to you?”

“Not a word the whole car ride, then I sent him up to his room,” she replies.

Ellie’s eyes start to fill with tears and she looks down. “Bloody hell.”

Lucy rubs her sister’s knee. “We knew this day would come.”

“Yeah, but not like _this_ , not – “ She wipes her eyes. Aila turns and buries herself in Ellie’s ribcage, perhaps sensing that her mother needs a hug. “Fuck, what am I going to do?”

Lucy sits back. “You’ve always made a point out of being honest with Fred, yeah? Telling him the truth about things, in a way he understands. I think you…look, it’s going to be brutal but I think you’ve got to tell him how it is.”

Ellie nods, looking down and sniffling. “Right.”

“I’ll hang onto Aila,” Lucy says. “You ought to throw back a shot of whisky and go to him.”

*

In his room, Fred is laying atop his bed with his stuffed giraffe Rhino, staring at the ceiling. Ellie lightly knocks on the slightly ajar door and then steps inside.

“Hey there, little love…”

Fred sits up immediately, his face stricken. “Mumma, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Ellie feels her heart drop out of her chest and the sensation is so real then she nearly bends over to pick it up.

“I didn’t mean to hurt Simon I just wanted him to be quiet and stop lying!” Fred exclaims. Then pouts, looking down. “I’m really sorry, Mumma.”

She sits down on the bed and pulls Fred against her, squeezing him tightly. “I know, sweet.”

He looks up at her with his big doe eyes. “Are you angry?”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m not angry. I know you know it was wrong,” she says. “And I know you’ll think twice before you ever do something like that again, yeah?”

Fred nods fervently. She kisses the top of his head. Then he averts his eyes.

“Did they tell you what he said?” He asks quietly.

“Yes.”

He furtively looks back up at him. “Why would he say that? And what’s a paedophile? I know it’s bad.”

Ellie takes a massive deep breath. “Come here.” She repositions them so that they’re lying down on his bed together, with her arm around him.

“Mumma.” He’s waiting for an answer.

“A paedophile is a grown up who gets too close to children. Has feelings for them that are…inappropriate. Adult feelings.”

Fred blinks. “Like wants to date children?”

“…Right.”

“That’s bad,” he says, looking for confirmation from her.

She nods.

“But my old dad wasn’t a murderer and a paedophile. He was sick and couldn’t take care of me.”

Ellie rubs her face with one hand.

“Right, Mumma?”

She looks down into his eyes and feels the moisture building up in hers. She swallows. “I’m going to tell you the truth, Fred, okay? It’s not going to feel good and it’s going to be very, very hard, for both of us. But I’m not going to lie to you."

Fred just gazes at her with terror.

“When you were a little little baby, Tom had a best mate named Danny. Beth’s son, Chloe and Lizzie’s brother, though Lizzie wasn’t born yet,” Ellie begins.

“Danny who died,” Fred says.

“…Danny who died, yes. We didn’t know it, but your dad had gotten close to Danny too. And he had…adult feelings for him. And you’re right, he _was_ sick, someone who is a paedophile is someone who is very, very sick. But we didn’t know that about your dad. Your dad didn’t even really know it about himself,” she explains. “One day Danny and your dad got into an argument. Your dad got so upset that he… _hurt_ Danny. He…killed Danny.”

Fred’s entirely body is frozen and he appears to be holding his breath. Ellie gives him a squeeze and strokes his hair, using the moment to briefly close her eyes and take yet another deep breath.

“He didn’t mean to, love. I think it’s important you understand that, all right? He didn’t _plan_ to kill Danny, he didn’t _want_ to kill Danny. He was scared and he lost control,” she tells him. “Now, that _does not_ make it okay. It does not make what he did okay, not at all. He did a terrible thing, an unforgivable thing. But it was an accident. One that he tried to cover up, which made it much, much worse. He lied to all of us about it. We had no idea.”

“Not even you?”

Ellie swallows. “Not even me. And I was investigating the case. That’s how surprising it was. None of us could even fathom that it might have been your dad who’d done it. He was a good husband, a good father, a good mate. Or, he had been.”

“So how did you figure it out?”

“It was Alec who figured it out, actually,” she says. “Alec was working with me to solve the case. The day Danny died was the day Alec and I met. Alec figured it out, and then your dad confessed to it.”

Fred is quiet for a long moment. “So is he in jail now?”

Ellie hesitates. “…No. He was, for a while. But then there was a trial. A very difficult, painful, unfair trial. And the jury found him not guilty.”

“If the jury found him not guilty, how do you know for sure that he did it?”

“We know, love,” Ellie replies, her voice breaking. “We know he did it, I promise you we know. And he confessed.”

“If he confessed, why did they say he wasn’t guilty?” Fred asks.

“Well. This is hard to understand, but in a trial, it’s very important that a jury only vote _guilty_ if they are one hundred percent certain, not ninety-eight percent certain, _absolutely positive_ , not even the tiniest doubt. And because of some things that happened during the trial, some unfair things, that jury felt they couldn’t be absolutely positive. So they had to say not guilty.”

Fred reaches for Rhino and snuggles the animal between him and Ellie. “So where is he now?”

“We don’t know,” Ellie answers truthfully. “When he was released, he was sent away. By the whole town. And told never to come back. And thankfully he never has.”

“…But doesn’t he miss me? And Tom?”

Ellie wipes away her tears with her hand. “I’m sure he does, my love. I know he does. He loved you _so much_. The both of you. Adored you, more than anything in the whole world. But I think – I hope – that perhaps even _he_ understands that he’s too sick to be with you. He stays away for your own good. Because he loves you too much to risk it.”

Fred is quiet again, burrowing himself into Ellie, hiding his face. She just strokes his hair and breathes, grateful for the temporary reprieve.

“Mumma.”

“Yes, love.”

“I’m a Hardy now, right?”

“Yes, you are.”

Fred raises his head slightly. “So I’m gonna grow up and be like Alec, right? Not like…him.”

Ellie smiles, sniffling. “That’s right, my sweet. You have the best dad in the world now. You’ve not a thing to worry about.”

Then Fred sits up. “Do I have to apologize tomorrow?”

She sits up too, wiping her eyes. “Yes. But so does Simon. You _both_ deserve apologies,” she says firmly. “And if the teachers at school don’t agree, you tell them to come and talk to _me_.”

“Okay.”

Ellie reaches out to stroke his cheek with her index finger and manages a smile. “You want a snack?”

Fred shakes his head. “I want to see Tom. Can I go see Tom?”

She nods. Then pulls him into her one last time. “I love you _so much_. You know that, don’t you?”

Fred smiles up at her. “Yeah.”

“My sweet boy.” She kisses his forehead.

“…Can I go to Tom’s room now?”

She nods and pats his back. “Go on.”

Fred jumps up and runs out of the room. Slowly, Ellie gets up, stands in the middle of the bedroom for a moment, then steps out. She sits down in the middle of the staircase and bursts into tears.

*

Ellie orders pizza for dinner and the entire family, sans Alec, eats in front of the telly. It’s all any of them can handle today, and Ellie can’t fathom the idea of a family dinner that turns into a weepy, agonizing talk about Joe.

Shortly before they eat, Alec texts her asking after Fred. She says she’s spoken to him and she’ll tell him more when he’s home. In her mind, she’s relieved knowing that she’ll likely be long asleep by the time he gets home, and he’ll still be asleep when she leaves for work in the morning. Who knows when they’ll actually have to discuss it.

But what _actually_ happens is that Alec makes it home by 10pm that evening. She has just gotten Fred back to sleep after a nightmare and is quietly tiptoeing out of his room when she runs into Alec in the hallway. Like a deer caught in headlights, she freezes. Her eyes are red, skin blotchy, tears dried on her cheeks.

“You’re home,” she gasps.

“Called it a night – dead end after dead end, best to step away until tomorrow,” he explains quickly, then his eyes flicker over her. “What’s happened?"

Ellie just shakes her head, more or less waving him off.

“ _Ellie_.”

She brushes past him and jogs down the stairs. He follows.

“Leftover pizza in the kitchen if you want it, but I know you don’t,” she says, walking briskly into the living room.

“Ellie, for god’s sake.”

She sits down on the couch, immediately crossing her legs comfortably, and wipes at her face.

“Is it Fred?” He asks. “Because you needn’t worry about him, El, he’s not – one little scuffle in the schoolyard doesn’t mean – “

“He knows,” she says finally. “He knows about Joe.”

Alec frowns. “What?”

“The boy he had a row with at school – he was telling everyone that Fred’s father is a murderer and a paedophile.”

His mouth opens, but he doesn’t speak. He stands there, arms dangling, astonished. And then he says, “Who? Which boy? Who are his parents? How did – I’ll go over there, I don’t care what time it is, I’ll – “

“ _Alec_ ,” she exhales.

“The other boy better’ve been sent home from school as well, I tell you, because that sort of behaviour, that kind of talk shouldn’t be allowed, he ought to be good and punished for that, and really, what I’d like to know is why he wasn’t dealt with _before_ Fred had a swing at him, where were the teachers?” His hands are on his hips now and he’s pacing. “Sod it, I’m goin’ over there.” Then he stops and looks at her. “Wait, where am I goin’ exactly, who was it?”

“Alec, Fred _knows_. About Joe,” Ellie repeats. “He knows everything.”

“How – what do you mean everythin’?”

Ellie rubs her eyes and looks down. “I told him. I told him the whole story. The truth.”

“Fred knows,” Alec repeats, hollow. “Hang on, you told him everythin’? You – _you_ told him everythin’, you sat him down and you – “

Tears begin streaming down her cheeks again and she wipes at them over and over. “Course I did, what else was there to do?”

“Without me,” he says. “Without me you did it.”

Ellie looks up and stares at him, puffy-eyed and glassy. “I had to. It was – I _had_ to, it’s not as if it could wait, after what happened, there was no use trying to put him off. You should’ve seen him, he was so upset, he – his little face…”

“You’re right, I _should_ have seen him.”

It becomes clear to Ellie right then that he is, in fact, _angry_ with her.

“He’s _our_ son, Ellie, _our_ son. Is he not? This is – maybe the most important moment of his life so far, the most…delicate and difficult, and you – you spoke to him without me.” He turns around from her, shaking his head and looking down at his shoes.

“You weren’t _here_ ,” she responds, matching him. “We’re never home at the same time, how could I – it wasn’t possible to _wait_ , to wait _indefinitely_ , I – “

“You could have told me,” Alec says. “You could have told me it was important and to come home and I’d have come.”

“In the middle of a bloody murder investigation?”

“ _Yes_!”

“No. Oh, no.” Ellie shakes her head, then stands, not to be one-upped by him. “No, you would’ve said, _can it wait? We’re just tracking down CCTV footage of Nathan Gombell purchasing the knife that was used to kill Melinda_. That’s what you would have said. _We’ll talk when I get home_ , is what you would have said. And then maybe an _I love you_ , just to make it all better.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, it isn’t, but this is what our lives are _like_ , Alec,” she retorts. “We’re trying to solve a _murder_. How do we do that _and_ have the most important conversation of our son’s life? Together? We _can’t_.”

“Still, it was wrong,” Alec maintains. “Having _that_ conversation with Fred without me there.”

“Why, because you’re so certain I’ve done it _wrong_?”

“No --- _no_ , because he needs to see that we’re a united front, that we both love him, that we’re both here for him, we understand, we can answer any questions he may have, that he _does_ have a dad who cares, who listens, who loves him. Who will _protect him_.”

Ellie’s eyes are filled with tears again, but they do not fall. She purses her lips and bites the inside of her cheek trying to keep them in check. Then she exhales. “I did what I thought was the best thing for Fred in the moment. What needed to happen. I wasn’t going to string him along just waiting for you. He needed answers, he needed comfort, and he needed them immediately. And that’s that.”

His hands are back on his hips. “Oh, that’s that, is it?”

“Yes.”

He stares at her, face red, eyes burning, blood running hot. And not in the way she’s used to.

“Fine, then.” He turns in several directions before deciding where to go. “’m goin’ to bed.”

He stalks off into the hallway.

“Good!” Ellie calls after him. “I’ll sleep down here.”

He stops. “What.”

“I’m sleeping on the sofa tonight.”

He turns around, all the color now gone from his face. His mouth opens then closes it in quick succession.

“Go on then.” She flicks a hand at him.

“Ellie.”

She shakes her head fervently. “Not getting into bed with you right now.”

With that, she stalks off into the kitchen. He stands where he is a moment, then drags himself up the stairs.

***


	3. Chapter 3

Ellie doesn’t sleep much that night. On the couch, she opens her laptop and scans through CCTV she’s watched twice already. She stares at the ceiling. She has a glass of wine, hoping it’ll knock her out. Then she watches whatever shit telly is on in the middle of the night. It’s nearly 4:30 in the morning by the time she does pass out, wrapped in a giant afghan blanket, half-sitting up.

Daisy is the first to come padding down the stairs in her pyjamas, at about 6:30. She stops in the doorway to the living room, staring at the sight before her. Ellie stirs, her eyes fluttering open for what would have been a brief moment had they not caught the barest glimpse of Daisy’s form a few feet away. She rubs her eyes and sits all the way up.

“…Morning.”

Daisy folds her arms across her chest suspiciously. “What are you doing down here?”

“Just…fell asleep working,” Ellie replies weakly.

Daisy raises an eyebrow. “You never sleep on the couch. Neither of you _ever_ sleeps on the couch,” she says. “And if one of you _almost_ does, the other one would drag you upstairs at some point.”

Ellie stretches out her arms, feeling her joints crack in the satisfying way. “We’re on such different schedules at the moment, Daiz. That’s all.”

Daisy is not convinced. She still has vivid memories of the months leading up to her parents’ divorce, her father sleeping on the couch for weeks at a time.

“Why don’t you go put the kettle on, love?” Ellie suggests, sensing no other way out of this interrogation.

“Go up and see Dad,” Daisy challenges her, standing firm.

Ellie blinks at her, then narrows her eyebrows.

“Go on, go up and get back into bed with him.”

“He needs to sleep, Daisy.”

Daisy says nothing. She simply waits. Ellie sighs heavily, then hoists herself up off the couch, stretching her body at the same time.

“Fine. Go make tea.”

Ellie heads for the door and pats Daisy’s shoulder, then she heads one way and Daisy goes the other.

Upstairs, she sees that the nursery door is open. She peeks her head in and finds Alec standing at the changing table, replacing Aila’s nappy.

“Didn’t hear her,” Ellie says groggily.

Without looking at her, Alec replies, “I’ve got the monitor. So.”

Ellie reaches for the baby, who is kicking her legs happily, and Alec gingerly blocks her.

“Let me feed her,” she says with a frown.

“Goin’ to give her some of that rice cereal we bought.” He still doesn’t look at her.

Aila’s smile turns into a frown as she notices that neither one of her parents is smiling.

“Christ’s sake my sodding tits are leaking will you just give her to me?!”

Alec sighs, resisting the urge to turn and glare at her, then just takes a step back so that Ellie can move in. As soon as Ellie picks up the baby, he stalks out of the room. Aila looks at her mother quizzically.

“I know, I know,” Ellie exhales.

*

Trying to shake off his irritation, Alec walks from Aila’s nursery to Fred’s room, the next door over. He pushes it open a crack. Fred is laying horizontally on his bed kicking the soles of his feet against the wall restlessly. He tosses up Rhino up and lets the stuffed animal land on his chest every time.

“Mornin’, mate.”

Fred glances over at the door then swings his legs over and sits up. “Why aren’t you asleep.” It’s been two weeks and Fred has gotten quite used to, well, _never_ seeing his dad on this new schedule.

“Wanted to come check in with you,” Alec replies, walking over to the bed. “That okay?”

Fred nods as Alec sits on the edge of the bed. “Did you hear?”

“About what happened in the schoolyard, yeah. I heard.”

“I did a bad thing,” Fred says, averting his eyes.

“From what I understand, the other boy did a bad thing too,” Alec says.

“I guess. But he was telling the truth. Is that still bad?”

“In this case, yes.” He tucks one leg underneath him and turns toward Fred. “His intention was bad. And it wasn’t his truth to tell.”

Fred is quiet for a moment, his attention focused on Rhino.

“Is there anythin’ you wanna talk about, lad?” Alec asks. “D’you have any questions? ’m sorry I wasn’t there when your mum spoke to you.”

“Ummmmmm…..” Fred stares at the ceiling. “I guess I think it’s kinda scary.”

“Scary what your dad did?”

“Not my dad,” Fred says emphatically. “My _old_ dad.”

Alec nearly smiles. “What your old dad did then.”

“No. I mean yes. But I think it’s more scarier that a good dad can be a murderer too.”

Alec nods solemnly, thinking.

“Mumma says he was really a good dad.”

“He was, I think,” Alec answers. “People are…complicated, Fred. We all have different sides to us.”

“Like any of us could be a murderer?”

If Fred wasn’t six, his answer would be _yes_. It’s more or less what he told Ellie five years ago. And now he could kick himself for doing so.

“…No. But we all have secrets.” He winces. That wasn’t the right thing either.

“So anyone could _secretly_ be a murderer.”

Alec is really starting to bristle at hearing his sweet little boy say the word _murderer_ over and over.

Before he can think of a reply, Fred continues. “Why did Mumma marry him if he was so bad? How come she couldn’t see it?”

“…Well. There’s a good chance your dad – your old dad - wasn’t sick at all when your mum married him,” he says. “And some people are very, very good at keeping secrets. Even from the people they love the most.”

“So he really loved her?”

“’Course he did, mate.” He feels a icy chill down his spine thinking about it, as he always does when he thinks of when Joe and Ellie were happy. “He loved her very much.”

“Like you love her?”

“…Yeah.” _No_.

Fred looks down at Rhino in his lap furtively. “Do you think he ever would have hurt _me_? Or Tom?”

“No,” Alec says unequivocally. “Absolutely not.”

Fred keeps staring down. “It’s good Mumma found someone good.”

He squeezes Fred’s knee. “She deserves the best.”

The child nods. “Yeah,” he says. “She protecteded me.”

Alec is momentarily perplexed, but then nods. “She always will. And so will I. You know that, yeah?” Fred nods again. Alec reaches out and rubs his back. “D’you have any other questions, lad?”

He shakes his head.

“Okay. Why don’t you get yourself sorted for school then, eh?”

He nods.

Alec pats his back. “Up we go.”

*

Daisy grabs a ride to school with a mate without even checking with Tom, so Ellie is tasked with dropping him off at school on her way to work. They drop Fred off first, after a fairly quiet ride, and then Ellie looks at Tom.

“So. We haven’t spoken about…Fred,” she says tentatively.

Tom glances over at her, then straight ahead again. “Yeah. Heads up might’ve been nice.”

“Sorry. I know. Wasn’t quite…prepared for the whole thing.”

He sighs and nods.

“Was it…okay? Talking to him about your dad?”

Tom shrugs. “Yeah. It was good, probably. Didn’t have anyone to really…talk to about it for years. Besides you. And it’s not....talking to Fred is different, you know? Like brother to brother.”

Ellie hopes he doesn’t notice the hint of a smile that appears on her face.

“He’ll never really know the good that was in Dad. And I mean…he spent _so much time_ with him, honestly, that whole first year of his life, you know? It was him and Dad. But he doesn’t remember any of it,” Tom says. “But it’s good because I think he’s really listening to me, you know? He believes me. And now maybe I can like…share some things with him, some of the good things. From before.”

Ellie blinks back her tears and nods. “You think you will?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Tom replies. “It’s really scary to only think of Dad as…like a paedophile and a killer. I don’t want that to be the only idea Fred has of Dad, he’ll have nightmares forever.” He turns to look at the window. “Like I did at first.”

She glances over at him, then back to the road. “You think he’s all right? Fred?”

He turns to her. “He’ll be fine, Mum.”

Ellie reaches over and squeezes his arm with a grateful smile.

*

When Alec arrives at Rockford CID that afternoon, Ellie is in the process of giving orders to the uniform. Then they disperse at her command. Despite everything, he finds himself a little turned on.

“What’s happenin’?”

Ellie turns and barely glances at him. She tosses a transcript at him. “Guess whose alibi just fell through.”

His eyes flicker over the paper. “The boss recanted?”

“Sharon Gombell just moved herself to the top of the list.”

Alec puts his glasses on to read the transcript more thoroughly. “I’ll interview her.”

“I’d bet good money on her being _compromised_ , as they say. Likely no interview ‘til morning,” Ellie replies, barely concealing her satisfaction. “Once she dries out.”

Alec sighs and sets the transcript down, then pulls off his glasses. “Your suspect then.”

She reaches for her bag, then tosses her mobile into it. “Bet your arse.” Then she slings the bag over her shoulder and saunters out the door.

He watches her until she disappears from view.

*

Alec trudges into his dimly lit house around midnight, his jacket slung over his shoulder. He makes himself a cup of chamomile tea then yawns as he ascends the stairs like a ghost. The door to Aila’s room is open, though the lights are off, sound machine on. Ellie is walking around the room with the tiny baby in cradled in her arms, bouncing her exhaustedly. Aila is making faint little whining sounds, wanting to make it clear that she is distressed but having little energy to do so.

Ellie glances up when she notices his shadowy figure in the doorway. “Sodding tooth won’t let her rest.”

“I’ll take her,” Alec offers. “You go back to sleep.”

She hesitates, then hands the baby over.

About thirty minutes later, he enters their darkened bedroom. He discards his work clothes and changes into a t-shirt and shorts. As soon as he approaches his side of the bed, Ellie flips around and slaps her arm down on it, effectively blocking him.

With a deeply disgruntled sigh, he grabs his pillow and trudges back out of the room, heading for the couch.

*

The next afternoon, Alec sits on the couch in his pyjamas with Aila in his lap. He flips through a file with one hand and the other hand is in Aila’s mouth as she continuously bites down on it with her gums. Then he gets a text from Johnson at Rockford that says: _Come to the station ASAP._

*

At the station, he finds the rest of the team standing watching the interview room from the other side of the two-way mirror. Inside, Ellie is interviewing Sharon Gombell. Things are tense and heated, and it’s clear they’ve been at it for a while.

“She’s nearly got her,” Johnson leans over and whispers.

They listen intently, nervously, until finally a rage-filled, teary confession comes flying out of Sharon Gombell’s mouth like projectile word vomit. With a knowing smile, Ellie stands.

“Sharon Gombell, you are under arrest for the murder of Melinda Parker. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence….”

A couple of the uniform enter the room and cuff her. Sharon Gombell is screaming obscenities as Ellie triumphantly walks out of the room.

The rest of the team applauds her enthusiastically and the whole station seems to be buzzing. Alec walks right up to her and kisses her hard, causing her to fall backward a few steps. When they break away, the team is still applauding, and now laughing. Ellie half-smiles breathlessly, then looks down and tucks her hair behind her ear as her smile widens.

*

Some time later, Ellie stands outside the station, leaning against the rail that protects from the river below. Alec approaches her from behind, walking slowly with his hands in his pockets.

“Well done, Detective Inspector,” he says, announcing his presence. “’m proud of you.”

She whirls around and to his surprise she is _glaring_ at him. He recoils. “What?”

“Patronizing bloody wanker, don’t you start with me.” She turns away again.

“ _Ellie_ ,” he protests.

“You know what? No. I’m not going to let you make me feel like I’m overreacting,” she retorts. “I’m not a child, you don’t need to be _proud_ of me, that implies you’re surprised I pulled it off in the first place. May as well give me a pat on the back, ruffle my hair, and say, ‘Good work, champ.’”

He sighs, turns away, then thinks better of it and turns back to her. “What the hell am I supposed to say then?”

“I don’t care.” She turns back to the river. “You don’t trust me to solve a case, don’t trust me to parent our _child_ – “

“Wait wait wait, hang on.” He’s shaking his head.

“Don’t believe a thing can be done right unless you’re the one doing it.”

“Ellie,” he exhales. “’m _sorry_.”

Her eyes are still cold, staring right through him. “Are you?”

“The thing with Fred….it threw me, all right? I wasn’t prepared, and I was…” He sighs. “If I’m bein’ honest it made me feel like I was outside of things. Like I wasn’t a part of…” He looks down. “It was a knee-jerk reaction and I’m sorry. I know you weren’t trying to shut me out of it.”

“I really wasn’t.”

“I took it personally and I shouldn’t have.”

“Bloody well right.” With her next breath, her body language softens a bit. “…I’m sorry you weren’t there. I do wish you had been. It was bloody agony going through that alone.”

They lock eyes finally and he reaches for her hips, pulling her against him. “Forgive me.”

She plays with the buttons of his shirt. “I suppose.”

“I’ve hardly slept in two days.” He kisses her forehead.

She leans into it. “Me too.”

Ellie lays her head on his chest and his arms circle her waist.

“Bit much, all of this.”

She nods into his chest. “We haven’t even touched upon Daisy and Jade.”

“What _is_ goin’ on with all that?”

“No idea, honestly. She’ll come clean one of these days.”

He nuzzles her hair. “I’ve missed you. Two whole weeks, really…”

“I miss falling asleep with you,” she says.

“Miss wakin’ up with you.”

Her arms slip underneath his jacket and wrap around him. There’s quiet for a moment as they are simply content to hold each other.

“You know, the best thing about this case is that none of the paperwork is down to us,” Alec reminds her.

“Mm. And if we head home now we might still manage a full hour before the kids get home…”

He smiles, living in this fantasy briefly. “…Molly will be there with Aila.”

“Bollocks.” Then she looks up at him, chin resting just below his pacemaker scar, with a sly grin. “Could take the car off someplace remote…”

He smirks at the expression on her face. “Naughty, naughty DI Hardy.”

“If you’re lucky.”

*

After discarding her trousers, Ellie climbs on top of him in the passenger seat, deftly pulling down his fly. She kisses him with urgent desperation, the frenzied desire that comes from two weeks of forced celibacy. He pulls a lever and the back of the seat lowers abruptly, causing her to laugh into his mouth. He lifts his hips and she pulls his trousers down to his thighs, freeing him from his briefs. He pushes her knickers to the side just before entering her, then they both gasp loudly with unmitigated relief. Her head falls to his chest, hair covering her face as he runs his hands through it. Their tongues twist and unfurl together as she moves over him, both of them quickly breathless and panting.

He exhales _fucking goddess_ just before he comes, she just pulls his hair and cries out when she does shortly thereafter. For a while, neither of them moves.

Then, he whispers, “Ellie…”

“Mm.”

He pats her on the back, ruffles her hair, then says, “Good work, champ.”

***


End file.
